KIRKTONHALL, WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL FEBRUARY 2013 WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Planning Policy Context 3.0 Location and Setting 4.0 Historical Development 5.0 Character Appraisal 6.0 Character Assessment 7.0 Key Features and Challenges 8.0 Opportunities for Preservation and Enhancement 9.0 Future Management Priorities 10.0 Monitoring and Review Appendix One - Location Plan Appendix Two - 2006 Conservation Area Appraisal Appendix Three - Historic Maps Appendix Four - Conservation Area Appraisal Analysis Appendix Five - Historic Scotland Listed Building Reports Appendix Six - Photographic survey Appendix Seven - Bibliography and Useful Information February 2013 Peter Drummond, Architect Ltd. 36 Portland Road, Kilmarnock, KA1 2DL T: 01563 898288 130 Stanley Street, Glasgow, G41 1JH T: 0141 530 7955 WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL 1.0 INTRODUCTION Figure 1-1: West Kilbride the Cross pre- World War 1 1.1 All planning authorities are required by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Area) (Scotland) Act 1997 to determine which parts of their area merits conservation area status. These are areas defined as being of "special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”. 1.2 The purpose of a conservation area appraisal is to define what is important about its character and appearance and to identify its important characteristics. It is an essential tool to enable the active management of the conservation area. It identifies the area's special features and changing needs through a process which includes researching its historical development, carrying out a detailed townscape analysis and preparing a character assessment. 1.3 The West Kilbride Conservation Area was designated on 10 April 2006 further to agreement of the North Ayrshire Council Planning Committee on 16 January 2006 and public consultation conducted in March 2006. 1.4 As part of the proposed conservation of Kirktonhall and an application for grant support under Historic Scotland’s Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS), TPS Planning and Peter Drummond Architects have been commission to carry out a review and update of the original 2006 character appraisal. 1.5 The purpose of this appraisal is to review, reappraise and update were necessary the Council’s Conservation Area Assessment of 2006 that led to the establishment of a conservation area within the heart of West Kilbride. It follows best practice as set out in Scottish Planning Advice Note (PAN) 17, Conservation Area Management. In doing so the appraisal will define and evaluate the character and appearance of the conservation area, identify what its key characteristics are and ensure that there is a full understanding of what is worthy of preservation. We will also review the conservation area boundaries as part of this process to make sure that they accurately reflect what the special interest of the area is and ensure that they are logically and succinctly drawn. 12019 February 2013 Page | 3 WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL Purpose of the Conservation Area Appraisal 1.6 Conservation Area designation is the first step towards the protection and enhancement of our villages, towns, and cities. Designation is not intended to prevent development or change, but rather to create a framework which balances the need to ensure vibrant, sustainable communities against those qualities which make our historic townscapes so valuable. 1.7 The purpose of an appraisal is to define and evaluate the character and appearance of the designated conservation area, identifying the important characteristics and setting out what is worth of conservation and enhancement. Special features are identified through a structured process which includes an analysis of historical department, a review of the townscape and key buildings, and thereafter preparation of a character assessment. 1.8 The study also provides an opportunity to review conservation area boundaries to ensure that they encompass the entire area of special interest. It should also identify threats to the conservation area, for example changing patterns of use or inappropriate modern alterations, and thereafter highlight opportunities for intervention. Conservation Area Boundaries 1.9 The Conservation Area boundary extends eastward to the intersection of Law Brae and Cubrieshaw Street and to the south west along Ritchie Street until it reaches the intersection with Well Street, thereby including the whole of Main Street, the Cross, the Horseshoe, and parts of Happy Hills and Halfway Street. The Conservation area has been designated with an Article 4 Direction to ensure protection is in place for window/door replacements and boundary walls/fences/gates. 1.10 The boundary was determined further to a Conservation Area Assessment conducted by ARP Lorimer and Associates between October 2005 and February 2006, a copy of which is attached at Appendix Two. Figure 1-2: Extant Conservation Area Boundaries (Ordnance Survey) 12019 February 2013 Page | 4 WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL 2.0 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT 2.1 Conservation areas were first introduced by the Civic Amenities Act 1967. The current national legislation is the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Area) (Scotland) Act 1997 which provides the framework for the designation of conservation areas. The pertinent sections of the Act are Section 61 which defines a Conservation Area as “an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”; and Section 63 of the Act which states that “it should be the duty of the planning authority to formulate and publish, from time to time, proposals for the preservation and enhancement of any parts of their district which are Conservation Areas.” 2.2 Additional guidance is included in Scottish Government’s Planning Advice Note PAN71 - Conservation Area Management which complements national policy supplying further advice on the management of conservation areas. 2.3 The most recent local planning policies are covered by North Ayrshire Council’s emerging Modified Local Development Plan (issued September 2012) Policy HE1 Conservation areas covers development within and adjacent to conservation areas and also covers demolition within conservation areas and provides day to day guidance. This policy notes that 2.4 “Proposals for development which would adversely affect the visual amenity or historical/architectural character of a conservation area, including its setting, buildings, open space or trees, shall not accord with the LDP”. 12019 February 2013 Page | 5 WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL 3.0 LOCATION AND SETTING Figure 3-1: Aerial Photograph of West Kilbride 3.1 West Kilbride is a substantial village located just inshore from the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire. The origins of the village date back to circa 500AD but its current size and importance is largely due to the arrival of the railway in 1878, and interwar suburban development both of which led to substantial increase in the size of the village. Together with the adjoining settlements of Seamill and Portencross it has a population of 4393 as measured at the 2001 census. Reasons for the Location 3.2 The development of the settlement was originally related to religious purposes with St Bride landing at Seamill in around AD500 to establish her church. The settlement also appears related to the establishment of nearby castles including Crosbie Castle which dates from the 13th century, Portencross Castle which dates from the 14th century and Law Castle which was built in 1468 as the home for King James III sister Mary. By the 18th century West Kilbride was largely a weaving village with weaver’s cottages lining the principal street which connected these to the mill on the Kilbride Burn. Possible evidence of this early western extension of the post medieval settlement is present on Roy’s Map of 1747-55. Topography 3.3 The village’s topography is unusual in that Main Street straddles two hills starting in the west at a plateau atop on hill and then descending into the valley between the two (at the base of which sits Kirktonhall) before ascending the second hill before descending into the second depression and coming to an end at the former mill at the Kilbride Burn crossing. The village is overlooked by Cauldron Hill and sits between Law Hill and Tarbert Hill. 12019 February 2013 Page | 6 WEST KILBRIDE CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL 4.0 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT Figure 4-1: Early West Kilbride - Roy Military Survey of Scotland 1747 – 1755 (NLS) 4.1 To assist our understanding desk research was undertaken as part of this report. The principle material identified was map data from the National Library of Scotland Map Collection, a review of the Stenlake photographic collection, limited photographic and archive information held at the West Kilbride Museum (North Ayrshire Council’s local archives) and limited photographic material was held by RCAHMS. Early History 4.2 West Kilbride’s origins are modest but religious. The name Kilbride is derived from the Celtic Saint Brigid of Kildare, otherwise known as St Bride. Reputedly St Bride landed at Seamill in around AD500 to establish her church – ‘Kil’ is the Gaelic name for chapel or churchyard. The West prefix is of later date - intended to differentiate the village from other settlements with similar names. Medieval History 4.3 The village’s